Imagine if a term associated with your identity was considered an insult. It would sting, right? And every time people used it, they would be reinforcing the idea that people like you are bad and unwanted.
Here are some examples of ableist language: retarded, lame, crippled, crazy, insane, dumb, feebleminded, moronic, spaz, psycho, schizo, maniac, idiot, cretin, looney, hysterical, gimp, nuts, wheelchair bound, freak, weak, invalid (as a noun) and special. Some of these terms were used even used diagnostically in the past, like “moron,” “dumb” and “retarded.”
If you mean frustrating or perplexing – ”This is so stupid!” or “That’s retarded!” –consider:
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Frustrating
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Pointless
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Annoying
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Irritating
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Obnoxious
If you mean intense – ”Woah, crazy!” — consider:
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Intense
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Awesome
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Amazing
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Wild
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Fascinating
If you mean bad or unpleasant – ”Wow, that’s lame!” — consider:
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Bad
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Awful
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Uncool
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Gross
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The pits
If you mean it as an intensifier, positive or negative – ”She’s a crazy good artist!” or “This is insanely difficult!” — consider:
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Really
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Very
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Intensely
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Wicked
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Considerably
If you mean unreasonable or absurd – ”That’s crazy!” — consider:
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Unreasonable
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Absurd
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Outrageous
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Unacceptable
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Ridiculous
If you mean to describe someone with a bad, dangerous character – ”She’s psychotic!” or “He’s a sociopath!” — consider:
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Dangerous
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Menacing
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Threatening
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Evil
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Murderous
If you mean to describe someone who’s doing something a little dorky – ”They’re such a spaz!” or “Are you retarded or something?” — consider:
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Silly
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Dorky
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Cheesy
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Nonsensical
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Illogical
If you mean to describe something that’s difficult to understand, or totally bizarre – ”These mass shootings are just crazy.” — consider:
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Fathomless
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Daunting
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Overwhelming
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Bizarre
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Bottomless
Not sure whether a word or phrase is disablist? The answer often depends on the context and situation.
“She’s autistic” to describe an autistic person, for example, is just a factual statement — though she may prefer to be called a person with autism, depending on how she views her relationship to autism. “Ugh, she’s so autistic” to describe someone’s weird behavior, on the other hand, is disablist.
If you’re using a word that refers to disability in a descriptive sense to suggest that something is bad, abnormal, unacceptable, weird, strange, upsetting, bizarre, odd, peculiar … you should probably consider using one of those adjectives instead!
Finally, when referring to individuals, you should always ask how they want to be treated. Along the way, you may learn some useful phrases and concepts that could help you change the way you talk — and, more importantly, change the way you think about disability.
Defasher OP moderator wrote (edited )
[CW: Slurs.]
Misogynist slurs to avoid:
Queerphobic slurs to avoid:
Anyone using these words will be banned.